Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Cottondale Water System

Nitrate, a fertilizer chemical, frequently contaminates drinking water due to agricultural and urban runoff, and discharges from municipal wastewater treatment plants and septic tanks. Excessive nitrate in water can cause oxygen deprivation in infants and increase the risk of cancer. Click here to read more about nitrate.

 

10

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

10

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.840 ppm110.840 ppm
20190.930 ppm110.930 ppm
20200.980 ppm220.910 ppm - 1.05 ppm
20210.955 ppm220.950 ppm - 0.960 ppm
20220.950 ppm220.940 ppm - 0.960 ppm
20231.58 ppm221.07 ppm - 2.09 ppm

ppm = parts per million

State, National, and Health Guidelines for Drinking Water

EWG Health Guideline: 0.14 ppm

The EWG health guideline of 0.14 parts per million, or ppm, for nitrate and nitrite is based on the equivalent health guideline for nitrate, as defined in a peer-reviewed scientific study by EWG. This guideline represents a one-in-one-million annual cancer risk level.

EPA Maximum Contaminant
Level (MCL): 10 ppm

The legal limit for nitrate, established in 1962, was developed to protect infants from acute methemoglobinemia, a life-threatening disorder of oxygen transport in the body. This limit does not fully protect against the risk of cancer and harm to the developing fetus.

ppm = parts per million

All test results

Date Result
2018-12-160.840 ppm
2019-12-040.930 ppm
2020-06-240.910 ppm
2020-06-241.05 ppm
2021-02-150.950 ppm
2021-02-150.960 ppm
2022-01-260.940 ppm
2022-01-260.960 ppm
2023-01-181.07 ppm
2023-01-182.09 ppm